PhD positions Social Sciences, University Amsterdam

In the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) of VU University Amsterdam, the PhD Programme is embedded in the Faculty Research Centre CCSS (Centre for Comparative Social Studies). The department of Political Sciences has a PhD position. The other position will be at the University of Antwerp. Tasks Both PhD students will conduct research in the context of a collaborative research program that studies recent social policy innovations and developments on social inequality in small, advanced European welfare states. Traditional welfare states have been evolving towards “activating welfare states” or “social investment states”, emphasizing above all labour market participation as a social goal. What have been the major policy developments in the past decades? What have been the differences in developments in various countries? What are the effects (e.g. in terms of inequality) of such innovations? The PhD student in Antwerp will concentrate on gathering comparative data and on a quantitative analysis of these data. The PhD student in Amsterdam focuses on the comparative analysis of social policy innovations.
Description

Applicants should have a (research) Master degree with very good grades in one of the Social Sciences. Applicants must have a demonstrable affinity with doing scientific research and be proficient in written and spoken English. Applicants should be highly motivated, can work well independently as well as in small teams, and have excellent communication and social skills.

Of these two positions one will be posted in Antwerp and one will be employed in Amsterdam. For the one at VU University Amsterdam, a contract of employment is offered initially for a period of 12 months, to be extended to a total period of four years conditional upon a positive evaluation after the first year. The four-year contract period must be concluded with the completion of a doctoral dissertation. Part-time employment is possible (with a minimum of 80%, i.e. 5 years). Fully detailed information about employment conditions can be found on www.workingatvu.nl The PhD student in Amsterdam will receive intensive supervision and take part in the courses and other activities of the CCSS PhD Programme. In addition, the PhD student will be enrolled in the national research school for Public Administration and Political Science (NIG). Both PhD students will be coached in getting their work published in academic journals and books. The PhD students also participate in the national and international research networks in which the research groups of the FSS are active and participate in academic conferences. Finally, PhD students have a limited teaching task. The salary is based on the salary scales for academic staff. The salary in the first year amounts to € 2.042,- gross per month, increasing to € 2.612,- gross per month in the fourth year, based on full-time employment.
VU University Amsterdam (VU)

De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV – Amsterdam
NETHERLANDS
email vacature-pol@fsw.vu.nl
http://www.vu.nl/